Chapter 2 - Hate at first sight?

Part 1/6

Looking in the full-length mirror on his wall, Ren checked his outfit one last time. As he wasn’t a soccer fan, nor did he have an athletic style, there weren’t any options in his wardrobe that were appropriate for the game. Fortunately, he couldn’t care less about it; so he dressed up as he always did.

The sleeveless black vest contrasted perfectly with his cream button-down that went under it. The sleeves pulled up to his elbows, exposing his slightly toned forearms; a work made by all the years of piano practice. He picked at the collar of the shirt that contoured the V-neck line of the vest, even though it was already well-adjusted. The brown khaki pants went all the way down to his ankle, ending just where they touched his black derby sneakers. 

A voice called from his bedroom doorway, “Are you going to a funeral?”

 Looking up, Ren saw Kai in the mirror behind him, frowning. His friend, opposite to him, was dressed very casually. The red jersey from some soccer team Ren didn’t know complemented his dark blue jeans. His hair had grown a bit, fringe falling to his eyebrows and often into his eyes, making him blow them impatiently. 

"Of course not,” Ren answered, putting on his black bowler hat. “If I was going to a funeral, I’d wear a very nice suit.”

Kai hummed nonchalantly and checked the clock on the nightstand. “Come on. We need to go, or we’re gonna be late.”

Taking a deep breath, Ren turned to him with raised brows. “You sure you wanna do this?”

Letting out a huff, Kai left the room. Ren followed his friend, tittering at the drama. When they reached the front door, Jones ran towards them. He squatted and hugged his dog while Kai walked out of the house.

“Take care of everything around here for me, okay, Joney-boy?” he said softly. “Of course I will,” he answered with a goofy voice, as though it was Jones speaking.

Laughing at himself, Ren placed a kiss on Jones’s head and stepped out of the house. Kai was already waiting for him on the sidewalk, staring at his phone.

“Is Niko on his way?” Ren asked as he approached.

“He just arrived at the café to pick up Yuki.” Kai tucked the phone inside his pocket before they started walking to the bus stop.

“I really don’t understand you two,” Ren said, frustrated.

“For fuck’s sake, haven’t you already complained enough this afternoon?” Kai asked, exasperated. If the situation wasn’t so alarming, Ren would have laughed.

“Apparently not, if you still insist on this insanity!”

Kai growled and quickened his steps. Since Ren’s legs were a bit longer, he had no trouble keeping up. “Will you please just let it go and try to be nice to him, at least til you two have a decent conversation?”

Ren shook his head vehemently. “You still didn’t give me a satisfying answer as to why the hell you and Niko are friends with a guy who just confessed to him!” Only speaking about it made him clench his fists.

“That was four months ago!” Kai argued. “And for the millionth time, it’s not like you imagine it is! Yuki’s not plotting against us, nor developing an evil plan to steal Niko from me.”

“That you know of,” Ren mumbled. He heard another huff from Kai.

“I already told you that you don’t get to talk about someone befriending some romantic crush from the past.”

“And I already told you that our situation is completely different than Niko’s with that weirdo,” Ren declared matter-of-factly. “We liked each other years ago, Kai. We barely even remember it anymore. But if what you told me on Christmas was true, that guy probably still likes Niko! Aren’t you worried at all?”

Kai threw his head back, seeming to be praying to the Gods for patience.

“Look, yeah, you may be right about Yuki having remnant feelings for Niko. But he’s never acted on it since we became friends,” Kai stated, clearly tired of the subject. 

It left Ren conflicted. He got a bit anxious at the idea that Kai might have enough of his ranting and decide he was better off without Ren. At the same time, he cherished those two too much to have anyone do them any harm. Which he truly believed that Yuki guy could.

“And anyway, he’s not as close to Niko as he is to me,” Kai concluded firmly.

When they arrived at the bus stop, Ren leaned against the bright advertising sign that protected the benches. Kai’s phone pinged and he fished it from his pocket. With a quick look at the screen, his shoulders hunched in what seemed exhaustion.

“Is that Niko?”

“Yeah. He’s already on the train.”

“Everything alright?” Ren asked suspiciously, as Kai sighed and put his phone back in his pocket.

“Mhm, all good,” he answered in a tone that sounded anything but good.

Narrowing his eyes, Ren fished his own phone and opened his chat with Niko.

Ren: Hey, what did you say to leave your bf so down?

Ren: I hope that asshole is not trying any funny business with you

Ren: I told you both you should not trust him!

Ren: And I was just reminding Kai of that

Ren: But do you guys listen to me? No!

It took Niko less than thirty seconds to answer.

Niko: Stop creating nonexistent things in your head!

Ren: That doesn’t exactly answer my questions.

Niko: Because your questions are stupid

Niko: Now stop bugging me

Niko: And Kai

Niko: Especially Kai!

Ren frowned and raised his eyes at his friend, seeing that he was also texting someone; probably Niko as well. Suddenly, Kai growled and looked up, snapping Ren’s phone away from him. 

“Hey!” Ren protested. 

Kai ignored him and tucked both phones into the back pockets of his jeans. He crossed his arms over his chest, staring defiantly at Ren.

“Why did you do that?” Ren asked, pouting.

“So you stop annoying Niko!” Kai sounded actually mad. That was a sign for Ren to tone it down.

Closing his eyes, he took a few deep breaths to calm himself. When he looked back at Kai, Ren saw his gaze fixed on the ground, his right leg shaking nervously.

“I’m just trying to help, you know,” Ren whispered, ducking his head.

He heard a long sigh from Kai. “I know, Ren. You’re one of my most trustworthy friends. But you’re taking all this way out of proportion.”

Even though his anxiety spiked a little, Ren was unable to hold back at that statement. He furrowed his eyebrows and mirrored Kai, crossing his arms. “I don’t think I am. In fact, I’m sure Niko must be upset right now because that weirdo is flirting with him.”

“Of course not!” Kai said louder. “He wouldn’t do that!”

“Didn’t I overhear you say some time ago that he still flirts shamelessly with Niko?”

Kai shrugged. “Yeah, but that’s just to annoy me. It’s not real, like you’re thinking.”

“Are you sure of that?” Ren tilted his head to the side. “Look, I know you see him as a good friend and blah blah blah; but in my book, when someone confessed to someone else only four months ago and still flirts with them, there’s still a spark of hope there. Not to mention that, if he really is your friend, he shouldn’t go around messing with the one sensitive topic between you two.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Kai shook his head softly. “It’s not that sensitive, Ren. Do I get annoyed when he jokes like that? Of course. But I get annoyed when anyone jokes like that,” he groaned. “Just like Niko gets mad when you cling to me to annoy him. Are you saying you do that because you want me back?”

“Ew, of course not!” Ren grimaced. “But I keep telling you that time is what makes us different! Four months is not a long time for such feelings to go away, Kai! Especially if he’s still hanging around Niko all the time!”

As the bus arrived and the doors opened, Kai hopped inside. Ren went right behind him. They made their way to the last two empty chairs in the back.

“You keep talking about time, but you forget that what you and I felt for each other was reciprocated. Niko never liked Yuki,” Kai continued, leaning against the window and turning his head to his friend.

Ren scratched his cheek. “Dude, this is not about Niko being in danger of liking him. It’s about you two being too damn naive to trust someone who's probably trying to fuck around with your lives!”

“Maybe you’re the one with a biased point of view.” Kai cocked an eyebrow. “Yuki is reliable, Ren. I trust him as much as I trust you.” He ignored Ren’s scoff. 

“I still don’t understand how you even became friends,” Ren grunted.

“I told you.” Kai smiled, glancing out the bus window. “We have a lot in common.”

Ren hated that answer. “What does that even mean? Why won’t you tell me? Or is liking Niko the only thing?”

Kai sighed, turning back to him. “Caring about Niko is one thing, yes. If you saw the way he chastises Niko when he’s careless about himself! Not that Yuki is any better. He barely takes care of himself either.”

“Is that what you have in common?” Ren mocked.

Kai’s eyes turned dark. “It’s personal, Ren. We understand and don’t hide things from each other.”

It was ridiculous, but Ren felt a pang of something that resembled jealousy. He scowled, trying to shove it aside. “How can you be so sure?” he argued.

“The first thing Yuki did when I met him was make it clear that he cared about Niko,” Kai tried to explain.

Ren wasn't having any of it. “That's all the more reason not to trust him,” he said urgently.

“He cares about a lot of things actually,” Kai ignored him and continued. “I was surprised by how family-oriented he is. When we first met, he was mad about some of the misunderstandings that had happened between Niko and I. They had been working together for a few months. I guess he could see how negatively it had affected Niko. Plus, half of the time, he thinks Niko is an idiot.” Kai laughed very openly, which was very unlike him. “He can be super honest. Too honest, actually. And as we started off practically fighting over Niko, it is like we have nothing to hide from each other. It’s strange, but it works for us.”

Ren gulped, looking forward. He couldn’t argue with that. Honesty was, after all, a very important quality in his book. Still, that relationship didn’t make sense in his mind.

“You’re one of the people who knows the most about what finally having real friends who understand what I've been through means to me,” Kai murmured.

Twitching in his seat, Ren felt himself soften at those words. All the affection he felt for Kai, as well as how the loneliness and hardship of developing deep connections to others had always been a common point between them, welled up in him. He watched his friend duck his eyes to his own fidgeting hands.

“I really want my two best friends to get along,” Kai whispered.

Ren let out a long breath. With a small grin, he ruffled Kai’s hair, who immediately slapped his hand, scowling. Ren chuckled at the reaction.

“I thought Niko was your best friend.” Ren raised a mocking brow.

Kai rolled his eyes, but smiled, all the previous tension leaving his features. Ren felt better, and was once again grateful to Niko. It was amazing to see Kai smiling more often now that they were dating.

“‘Course he is. But he’s also many other things.” It was beautiful how his face brightened whenever he was talking, or even just thinking, of Niko. “He’s everything.”

Will I ever feel this way about someone?

As much as he’d liked Kai in middle school, and had had other crushes throughout his life, Ren couldn’t say he’d ever truly been in love. It wasn’t something he missed or wished for anytime soon, if he was being honest. Someday in the future? Sure. He wasn’t averse to it. There were just more important things to focus on in the short term.

However, seeing two of his favorite people happy like that gave Ren hope. Having always been alone in his unrooted life, he used to think he could never care profoundly about anyone, for he would inevitably have to let them go. Now that he was beginning to find a safe place with real friends, Ren would not accept anything getting in the way of them.

He was learning what it meant to feel connected to others, without fearing it, for the first time. It was his responsibility to take care of those who gave him this chance. Especially Kai, who had gone through hell with the loss of his mother and his neglecting father. He deserved nothing but happiness. So did Niko, who had the purest heart Ren had ever known.

 But he also didn’t want to make Kai sad right now by continuing with their quarrel about his weirdo friend.

“Okay, I won’t argue with you anymore.” Kai looked at him as if he didn’t believe a single word. “But I will keep an eye on that Yuki guy, since you two seem too dumb to do so.”

Kai’s expression turned into an amused one, which Ren did not appreciate in the least.

“Careful not to eye him too much,” Kai joked. “You might end up catching feelings.”

Ren’s neck cracked as he snapped his head towards Kai. “Are you crazy? How the fuck would I catch feelings for a guy I don’t even know and already dislike?”

“Well,” Kai shrugged one shoulder, a little smirk plastered on his lips, “you have two friends who are living proof that it’s very possible to turn aversion into love.”

That concept was so ridiculous, Ren didn’t even bother to answer. Thankfully, Kai’s phone pinged again, distracting him from his nonsense. This time, whatever was in the message made the boy chuckle lightly. As he put his phone away, Ren did as promised and didn’t bring the Yuki thing up again.